DECATUR, Ga. — Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright delivered the keynote address at Agnes Scott College's 121st commencement May 8.

Albright was the 64th secretary of state of the United States. As the first female to be named to that position, she became the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government at that time.

"Dr. Albright has been a true trailblazer for women in our country and around the world," said Agnes Scott President Elizabeth Kiss.

DANVILLE, Ky. — Forbes magazine ranked Centre College as the best religiously affiliated college or university in the country.

Founded by Presbyterian leaders in 1819, Centre continues to maintain its affiliation with the Presbyterian Church while welcoming students, faculty and staff members of all faiths.

The Presbyterian Church of Danville, which celebrated its 225th anniversary last October, has a rich history with Centre College; its early members played a significant role in founding the College in Danville. And until the mid-1960s, Centre students were required to attend weekly chapel at the church.

CALDWELL, Idaho — On June 5, The College of Idaho’s class of 2010 graduated clad head to toe in recycled plastic. Participants wore the GreenWeaver, a cap and gown set made entirely of recycled plastic bottles.

The College of Idaho is the first college or university in Idaho to use these recycled caps and gowns in its commencement ceremony.

The decision to go green with the caps and gowns — initiated by The College of Idaho Bookstore — was made for several reasons. In addition to the environmental benefits of recycled regalia, the gowns are cheaper than the polyester rental gowns C of I has ordered in the past. Students also get to keep their caps and gowns rather than having to return them after commencement.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Rev. Larry Norris, president of Cook Native American Ministries, is leaving the school to serve as pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix.

Norris has been at Cook since 1984. He begins his new position July 1.

"I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of God’s work at Cook. It has broadened and deepened my understanding of Native people, the Kingdom of God, and has opened doors to meet and develop relationships with some of the most wonderful people on the planet!" Norris said in a letter.

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page delivered the keynote address at Illinois College's commencement May 16.

Page's column appears twice a week in the Chicago Tribune and is nationally syndicated by Tribune Media Services. He has also hosted several PBS documentaries and is a regular panelist on BET's weekly "Lead Story." As a freelance writer, Page's work has appeared in Chicago magazine, the Chicago Reader, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday and Esquire.

Page's first book, Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity, was published in 1996. He began his column for the Tribune in 1984, and it went into syndication three years later. It now reaches readers through approximately 150 newspapers and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989.

JAMESTOWN, N.D.Jamestown College awarded its first master’s degrees in the school’s 127-year history May 8.

Six graduates received master's degrees in education. Another group of master’s students will begin in the fall.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Condoleezza Rice was the keynote speaker at Johnson C. Smith University's commencement May 2.

Rice served as the 66th U.S. secretary of state and was the first African-American woman secretary of state. She is now a professor and senior fellow at Stanford University. Rice is also the daughter of JSCU alumnus John W. Rice, class of 1946.

ST. PAUL, Minn.Macalester College student Kristin Riegel won The Presbyterian Outlook Church-College Partnership Award. The award is given to a graduating senior who writes an essay on the topic "How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has prepared me for significant service and leadership."

Riegel's essay will be published in the Outlook's 2011 Guide to PC(USA)-Related Colleges (October 2010). She also received $1,000.

This is the award's fourth year. The Outlook is the independent news magazine serving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The award was introduced to showcase some of the outstanding students graduating from PC(USA)-related colleges and universities.

DECATUR, Ill.Millikin University's Tabor School of Business will launch a student-managed investment fund in the fall. The fund will be capitalized with a $100,000 allocation from the university’s endowment.

As part of a three-semester course, finance majors will serve as security analysts and portfolio managers for the fund. Unlike similar programs elsewhere, Millikin's fund will be incorporated into the curriculum for finance majors. Fund managers will be advised by faculty and industry professionals.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Peace College Board of Trustees announced that Debra Townsley has been named president of the college. Townsley will succeed Laura Carpenter Bingham, who will retire June 30.

Townsley, who will become the 10th president of the 153-year-old women’s college, is president of Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. She will assume the presidency at Peace in August.

Townsley has held a number of professional positions on the state and national level, including serving on the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She has numerous articles published in professional journals and national magazines.

PIKEVILLE, Ky.Pikeville College's Board of Trustees announced a $25 million expansion project that will provide students in the School of Osteopathic Medicine and the undergraduate college with a new facility and an expanded clinical skills center.

The facility will be ready for occupancy by June 2012.

The nine-story building will include two lecture halls, a gross anatomy lab, two research labs, offices, small group classrooms and student study space. A clinical skills training and evaluation center will house 12 examination rooms and serve as training and testing centers for programs using standardized patients and high-fidelity robotic patient simulators. Students in the Elizabeth Akers Elliott Nursing Program will also be able to use the space. An expanded osteopathic manipulative medicine lab and clinic will house the school’s free community clinic.

CLINTON, S.C. — The Rev. Jeri Parris Perkins is the new dean of Religious Life at Presbyterian College.

Perkins will oversee the college's Cornelson Center for the Exploration of Christian Practice and the campus ministry staff, the office of church relations, and the Communities Helping And Mentoring Promising Students (CHAMPS) program.

The pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hartsville, S.C., Perkins will begin her duties as dean Aug. 1.

SAN ANTONIO, TexasTrinity University President Dennis A. Ahlburg has appointed Mark A. Detterick as vice president for Fiscal Affairs and Tracy Christeson as vice president for University Advancement and Communications.

Detterick will lead the strategic management of the university’s financial and operating activities, including budgeting, investing, financial reporting, purchasing, facilities, police and human resources.

Christeson will lead the strategic management of Trinity's fund raising, alumni engagement and communications, including major gifts, planned giving, development services and alumni relations.

Christeson and Detterick joined the University in April 2010.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Deborah L. Myers has been named the new dean of students at Warren Wilson College.

Myers is the director of Student Activities, Leadership and Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University. She will begin at Warren Wilson in July.

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Whitworth University Board of Trustees has named Beck Taylor as the university’s next president. He will begin July 1, succeeding Bill Robinson.

Taylor is dean of the Brock School of Business at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

Taylor says he was drawn to Whitworth's strong sense of community and to its mission to uphold both rigorous, open intellectual inquiry and a commitment to Christian conviction as complementary rather than competing values.

CHAMBERSBURG, Penn. — Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, president of Wilson College, will retire in June 2011 after 10 years in the position.

With the announcement of her retirement, Edmundson leaves Wilson with a valuable legacy of innovation and growth. During her tenure, she led Wilson in completing and implementing its first comprehensive strategic plan.

Wilson expects to name a new president before June 30, 2011.